The Bloody Babies
by tinylexie
Summary: The miscarriages that Narcissa suffered in between Ara's death and the time she finally became pregnant with Draco. Sequel to "The Lost Baby." Part of the Dead Babies series.
1. The Raid and the Loss

**Author's Note****: This is the first sequel to "The Lost Baby." This fic is about the miscarriages that Narcissa suffered in between Ara's death and the time she finally became pregnant with Draco.**

**Additional Author's Note****: In "The Lost Baby," Lucius and Narcissa were still fresh out of Hogwarts. In this fic, however, about 2-3 years have passed; and Lucius and Narcissa (while still young adults) are not the same people that they were in "The Lost Baby." They have had several years to harden, and they are still hurting a lot from the loss of Ara.**

**Another Author's Note****: In the original version of this chapter, there was no Dobby. But after receiving a review from one of my readers that bought up some good points, I decided that I needed to add Dobby. There are some other edits as well, but the main events of this chapter have not changed that much.**

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><p>It was a typical raid of a Muggle village. It was late at night. Muggles were running and screaming. There were houses on fire. There were Death Eaters everywhere. In other words, it was complete chaos.<p>

Yet this chaos did not affect Lucius Malfoy in any way. His life had always been nothing but a chaos. He did not know the meaning of peace.

And he doubted he ever would.

Underneath his mask, Lucius took a moment to look around. Despite all the chaos going on around him, he was able to just stand there, his body completely still.

He was not relaxed, though. He was rarely relaxed. He did not understand what it meant to be relaxed. Relaxation was too closely related to peace, and peace was a foreign concept to him.

Lucius's sharp eyes suddenly caught sight of a figure in the shadows (away from the light of all the flames) trying to slip away without being noticed.

His wand out, Lucius began to make his way towards the fleeing figure. But he did not rush. In fact, his steps were steady, almost casual.

Houses had been destroyed. Fires were burning everywhere. The figure would not be going anywhere that fast. There was no need for Lucius to hurry.

As Lucius had predicted, the figure was suddenly stopped by a huge pile of smoldering ruin, the remains of what had used to be a house.

Lucius could now see that the figure was a woman. But that did not cause Lucius to pause, not even for a moment. His soul had long ago become numb. He would not show this Muggle mercy just because she was a woman. He had never been that sentimental. Besides, this Muggle filth was not his beloved Narcissa or his precious lost Ara. It would have been different if this woman had been Narcissa or Ara.

But this woman was clearly not Narcissa, and Ara had died before she had even been allowed to take a single breath.

Yet this woman was alive. This filthy Muggle woman was alive. Not like his poor little Ara. Why had this Muggle woman been allowed to live but not his Ara?

Lucius's steps remained steady, but they had lost their casual edge.

The woman looked over her shoulder. Her eyes widened with fear when she saw that she was being followed. She tried to run, but Lucius nonchalantly waved his wand, causing the woman to fall down to the ground.

Not increasing his pace, Lucius approached the fallen woman.

As Lucius drew closer, he noticed that the woman was not alone. She was holding a baby, a baby that could not have been older than the age of one.

Narcissa should have been the one allowed to hold a baby, not this filthy Muggle woman. Muggles were truly a taint on the world.

"Please," the woman begged. "Please, don't hurt my baby. Don't hurt my daughter."

Well, this was just great. This woman didn't just have the baby that he and his wife should have had. This woman also had the _daughter_ that he and his wife should have had.

The baby then began to cry.

His Ara had never had the chance to cry.

The woman tried to soothe her baby, but the baby continued to cry.

"Please, don't hurt me or my baby," the woman pleaded over her baby's cries. "I'm pregnant."

Narcissa was pregnant, with her first baby since Ara had died.

This woman could have been Narcissa, if Ara had lived.

If Ara had lived, Narcissa would currently have a daughter already born and living.

And she would now be waiting excitingly for her next child to arrive in the world, instead of worrying over whether or not it was going to end up being another Ara.

Why did this Muggle woman have to have all the fortune? Why did she have to be like Narcissa should have been?

The woman had finally managed to calm down her baby. The little girl was now completely silent.

In his mind, Lucius was performing the Killing Curse on this filthy Muggle woman and on her filthy Muggle babies, both the living one and the one still waiting to be born.

But in reality, Lucius was hesitating, his wand shaking slightly in his hand.

He couldn't kill Narcissa, Ara, and their unborn child.

No, this woman was a Muggle, not his Narcissa. And this woman's baby was not Ara. And this woman was not expecting his and Narcissa's next child.

Still, though, Lucius hesitated. What was wrong with him? This woman and her babies were nothing more than filthy Muggles. This woman and her babies represented everything that he and Narcissa did not have.

The woman took advantage of Lucius's hesitation. Holding her baby close to her chest, she somehow managed to make her way back to her feet. She then began to run away from Lucius as fast as possible.

Lucius raised his wand and pointed it at the woman's retreating back, but that was all he did.

"Aurors!" Lucius suddenly heard several Death Eaters calling out in warning. "Aurors are coming!"

It was time for them to leave.

Lucius's eyes, however, were still on the retreating woman, his wand still raised. But still, that was all he did.

"Aurors!" several of the Death Eaters cried out once again.

It really was time for them to leave.

Lucius gave the retreating woman (who was now almost a distant figure) one final glance. Then, he began the task of helping to round up the remaining Death Eaters, as several of them were still trying to get in some last-minute curses on the Muggles.

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><p>Narcissa came awake suddenly, feeling severe cramps and also intense pain in her abdomen. She also felt some sort of fluid running down her legs.<p>

Narcissa crawled out of the bed. Perhaps walking around a bit would help with the pain.

But what was running down her legs?

Narcissa grabbed her wand from the top of the small chest of drawers beside her side of the bed.

"_Lumos_," she breathed. Light immediately shot out of the tip of her wand.

Narcissa shone the light down on her legs. She gasped. It was blood that was running down her legs, lots of blood.

Why hadn't Lucius noticed yet? He was a restless sleeper. He always had been. He should be awake.

But then Narcissa noticed that Lucius was not there in the bed. Her husband, in fact, was nowhere to be seen.

Lucius had to be doing a mission for the Dark Lord. He would not had left her side during the middle of the night for any other reason. He had been overly protective of her since he had learned that she was pregnant again.

"Dobby," Narcissa cried out.

There was a snap, which was followed by the appearance of the house-elf in question.

"Yes, Mistress."

"Go to St. Mungo's. Get me some help."

It would be better for the Healers to come to her and to stabilize her before taking her to St. Mungo's than it would be for Dobby to Apparate her to the hospital without any prior treatment. Narcissa didn't want to attempt any form of Apparition in her current state.

But even as Narcissa was speaking, she suddenly heard something hit the floor.

Narcissa looked down, shining her wand light down as well. She felt the breath leave her lungs when she saw what exactly had hit the floor.

It was her baby. It was tiny, very tiny. But its arms, fingers, toes, and ears were fully formed.

The baby was covered in blood, unmoving and completely silent.

The baby was dead.

Narcissa crumbled down onto the floor, sobbing hysterically. She continued to bleed, but she didn't notice. All that she noticed was her dead baby.

Dobby just stood there, frozen in fear, unable to say or do anything. It was clear that he was nearly as traumatized as Narcissa was by the sight of the small, bloody fetus.

At that moment, one of the bedroom doors slowly and quietly opened, as if not to disturb the person sleeping inside.

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><p>Lucius silently stepped inside the room, removing his mask and his outer clothes as he did so. In the dimly lit room, the first thing that he saw was his wife's crumbled body on the floor. He could hear her crying.<p>

His heart began to race.

Then, he noticed the blood around Narcissa.

Then, he noticed the bloody fetus on the floor.

Lucius had to grab onto the doorknob for support.

Narcissa looked up and noticed her husband.

"Lucius," she cried. "Oh, Lucius."

Somehow managing to snap out of his state of shock, Lucius tossed aside his mask and his outer wear and began to make his way towards his wife.

Lucius then noticed Dobby, just standing there, his face a picture of shock and horror.

"Get some help from St. Mungo's," Lucius hissed at the house-elf.

Lucius's harsh tone snapped Dobby out of his trance-like state. The House-Elf disappeared with a frantic snap.

As soon as Dobby was gone, Lucius immediately stepped into action. He knew that it would be a few minutes before the Healers arrived, and he knew that if he didn't act fast, he could end up losing Narcissa along with their baby. He trembled at the thought that if he had arrived home just a few minutes later, he may had returned home to both a dead Narcissa and a dead baby. Especially since Dobby had proven to be of no use.

Lucius, forcing himself into a calm state, pulled out his wand and waved it. A cabinet door opened, and a bottle of Blood-Replenishing Potion (he had brewed several bottles of this potion in case he ever got severely injured while doing his duty for the Dark Lord) flew into his outstretched hand.

Narcissa was watching Lucius. How could she have forgotten about the Blood-Replenishing Potion? She had seen Lucius put the bottles in the cabinet, and she had known what the potion was for. How could she have forgotten something so important? Usually, she was not this forgetful.

But she had forgotten all about the potion and all about everything else the moment that she had seen her dead baby on the floor.

By this point, Lucius had made his way to Narcissa's side. He bent down beside her.

"Open your mouth," he said in a deceptively calm voice. Inside, though, he was close to panicking.

Lucius's calm voice helped to calm Narcissa just enough for her to register what he was saying. She opened her mouth, and Lucius poured the potion down her throat.

"That will keep you from bleeding out until help arrives," Lucius spoke, his voiced still eerily calm.

There was suddenly the sound a snap. Dobby had returned. Several Healers were with him.

They immediately went over to Narcissa.

"I just gave her a bottle of Blood-Replenishing Potion," Lucius told them.

"That was good thinking," one of the Healers remarked.

If Lucius had not been so worried about Narcissa, he would have rolled his eyes and given the Healer a snarky comment. But at the moment, his main concern was his wife.

Lucius watched as the Healers began to work on Narcissa. There was so much blood.

Lucius was no stranger to blood. He had spilled his share of blood.

But the blood had never before been Narcissa's blood.

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><p>After the Healers had finally managed to stop Narcissa's bleeding, they told Lucius that they would need to take her to St. Mungo's for further treatment. Without it, she would soon start bleeding again.<p>

Lucius just nodded his head as he took his wife's hand and squeezed it gently, so she would know that he was there and that he wouldn't be leaving her side anytime soon.

Narcissa gently squeezed her husband's hand back, so he would know that she was still fighting and that she was glad to have him with her.

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><p>It was after the Healers had told Lucius that Narcissa was going to be just fine but that she needed to rest when he suddenly thought about the Muggle woman and her babies (both born and unborn) from earlier that night.<p>

Lucius had failed to kill them. They would live to see another day.

Unlike his and Narcissa's baby.

It was not fair. It was not right.

Why were Muggles allowed to keep on having live babies, while he and Narcissa kept on having babies that died before they even had the chance to live?

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><p><span><strong>Author's Note<strong>**: Narcissa's baby was about three months old when she miscarried, so it would have been about 3.5 inches long and it would have had its arms, fingers, toes, and ears fully formed. It also would be possible to determine the baby's gender by this point.**


	2. The Missing Baby

Lucius's eyes suddenly snapped open. When had he fallen asleep? How could he have fallen asleep? He had promised Narcissa that he would stay awake and watch over her as she slept.

Despite the Healers' insistence, Lucius had refused to leave Narcissa's side at any point since her arrival at St. Mungo's the night before. So, he had taken a chair and had placed it beside Narcissa's bed. He had then taken Narcissa's hand in his own, and he had not released his grip since that time.

He may had fallen asleep, but at least he had not lost his hold on Narcissa's hand.

Lucius looked down at the bed where Narcissa had slept for the night, and he noticed that she was awake and looking up at him. There was a slight smile on her face. It was weak, understandably so, but it was a smile enough to indicate that she was glad to see her husband.

"I'm sorry," Lucius said. "I did not mean to fall asleep."

"That's all right, Lucius," Narcissa replied. "I know you haven't been getting much sleep lately. Just feeling the touch of your hand all night was enough for me. Besides, I love the way you look when you're sleeping. It's not often I get to see you actually resting for once. You've always been such a restless sleeper." Another weak but fond smile. "But now that you're up, could you go get one of the Healers? I'm ready to leave this place."

"Of course." Lucius finally released his grip on Narcissa's hand as he stood up. He took a moment to stretch his limbs (clearly falling asleep in a chair was not the wisest decision he had ever made in his life) before leaving his wife's hospital room.

Outside in the hallway, Lucius noticed one of the Healers (a witch) that had treated Narcissa the night before.

"My wife wants to know when she can leave," Lucius said.

"Let me perform some spells on her first to make sure that she isn't having any more complications," the witch replied. Lucius nodded his head. He then followed the witch into Narcissa's room.

"Morning, Mrs. Malfoy," the witch greeted. "Was the Sleeping Draught effective? Did you sleep all right?"

"Yes, I slept very well, thank you."

"I just want to do another quick check-up on you before you leave," the witch then spoke. "You shouldn't be bleeding any more, but I want to make sure that you're not."

"Of course."

Lucius walked over to Narcissa's bedside and once again took her hand as the witch waved her wand.

"Everything seems to be just fine," the witch said a few moments later. "However, I will be giving you some Blood-Replenishing Potion, Mrs. Malfoy. I want you to take a two doses a day, one in the morning and one at night, for a week. Then, I want you to come back for another checkup."

"All right."

The witch handed Narcissa a bottle of Blood-Replenishing Potion from out of her robe's pocket.

"You can drink half the bottle now," the witch suggested, "and the other half before you go to bed tonight."

Narcissa took the bottle from the witch's hand and drank half of its contents.

"Once again, I'm really sorry for your loss, Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy," the witch then said.

Narcissa just nodded her head. Lucius frowned, but he didn't say anything.

The witch then walked out of the room.

"Let's go," Narcissa spoke to her husband. "I'll feel better as soon as I'm out of this place."

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><p>"Why don't you sit down and rest a little while?" Lucius suggested to Narcissa when they had entered the main drawing room in Malfoy Manor. He could tell that Narcissa was still a little tired from her terrible ordeal the night before.<p>

But more importantly, he had to clean up their bedroom. There was blood everywhere.

But even worse than all the blood, their dead child was in the room.

Lucius didn't want Narcissa seeing their dead child again. It was enough that she had lost it the way that she did. She didn't need any more pain, and it would pain her if she had to look at their dead child again.

Narcissa just nodded her head as she took a seat.

"Would you like something to drink?" Lucius asked.

"Dobby can take care of that," Narcissa replied.

Lucius gave Narcissa's hand a gentle squeeze before letting it go. He then Disapparated out the drawing room and Apparated outside his and his wife's bedroom. He had placed an Anti-Disapparation Jinx on their bedroom to keep his father from being able to enter without warning. And he had also placed the jinx on the room because as quiet as his Apparition was (and it was very quiet), he was still afraid it might be loud enough to wake Narcissa if he had to return to their room in the middle of the night because of his duty to the Dark Lord (and that happened a lot).

To Lucius's shock, the room was not the bloody mess it had been the night before. Instead, it was completely spotless.

There was also no sign of the dead baby.

"Brenan," Lucius called out in a sharp voice.

There was a snap and suddenly his father's house-elf appeared at his side.

"Yes, Master Lucius," Brenan spoke with almost a sneer.

Lucius resisted the temptation to throttle the old, spiteful house-elf. Old and spiteful like his father, he couldn't help thinking. No wonder Abraxas Malfoy seemed so fond of the creature.

"What happened here?" Lucius demanded.

"Master Abraxas came to check on you and Mistress Narcissa this morning," the house-elf answered, "because neither of you had come down for breakfast. He saw the blood everywhere, and he ordered me to clean up the mess."

"And the baby?" Lucius pressed. "Where is the baby?"

"Master Abraxas told me to get rid of it."

Of course his father would be behind all this. Of course his father would do something like this.

"Get rid of it?" Lucius bellowed. "It was a baby, not some piece of trash! It was mine and Narcissa's baby! Go find my father and tell him to come here! Now!"

Brenan gave Lucius an almost mocking bow before he disappeared with a snap.

Lucius's body was shaking uncontrollably with anger. His father was going to have to answer for this. He was going to kill his father. This time, his father had went too far.

Lucius fought back a sob when he suddenly realized that he had no idea whether or not the baby had been a boy or a girl.

And now he would never get the chance to find out. Thanks to his father.

A moment later, Abraxas walked into the room through the open doors.

"Is there a problem, Son?" Abraxas smirked.

Lucius roared in anger as he leapt at his father and grabbed him by the throat.

Lucius had lunged at his father with so much force that he caused both of them to fall down to the floor. The younger Malfoy, however, did not lose his grip on the elder Malfoy's throat.

"Lucius," Abraxas tried to choke out, but his son's grip was too strong for him to say much of anything.

There was suddenly the sound of a crack. It was Brenan, and he was not alone.

He had Narcissa with him.

Lucius's eyes widened at the sight of his wife, but he did not loosen his grip on Abraxas's throat.

"You should be resting," Lucius told his wife.

Narcissa looked around. It was clear that she was also surprised by how clean the room was.

"What happened here?" Narcissa demanded. She then met Abraxas's bulging eyes. "What did _you_ do now?"

Abraxas tried to respond, but he couldn't.

"Let him speak, Lucius. Please. You can finish killing him after he explains himself."

Lucius gave his father's throat one last squeeze before finally releasing his grip.

Abraxas made some choking sounds. It was clear that he was trying to get his breath back.

"Well?" Narcissa pressed.

Abraxas ignored Narcissa. His only response was to glare at Lucius, the hatred and the anger in his eyes a match to that in his son's eyes.

"Lucius?" Narcissa spoke in a softer voice.

Lucius's eyes softened slightly as he looked up at his wife. His angry eyes were now also sorrowful.

"I'm so sorry, Narcissa," Lucius said in a trembling voice as he slowly made his way back to his feet. "Father came up here this morning to check on us because we had not come down for breakfast, and when he saw all he blood, he ordered Brenan to clean it up."

"And what about our baby?" Narcissa cried. "Where is our baby?"

Lucius just shook his head.

Narcissa glared angrily at Abraxas, who by this point had also made his way back to his feet, even though he was rubbing at his throat.

"You heartless bastard!" she screamed. "How could you? How could you have had our baby thrown away as if it had been trash?"

Narcissa began to make her way towards Abraxas, intent on doing him great bodily harm. But she was stopped when the old man pulled out his wand and pointed it at her.

Lucius pulled out his wand as well and pointed it at his father. Lucius's face was completely livid.

"You shouldn't be acting like this, Master Lucius," Brenan suddenly spoke. "You should be ashamed of yourself."

Lucius pointed his wand at the house-elf.

"Say another word," Lucius snarled, "and I will kill you."

"You are taking your anger out on the wrong people, Lucius," Abraxas spoke.

Lucius pointed his wand back at his father.

Narcissa, meanwhile, was torn between anger and completely falling apart. Seeing this, Lucius walked over to his wife and wrapped his arm around her waist. His wand, though, remained pointed at his father.

"Explain yourself, Father," Lucius hissed. "How am I taking my anger out on the wrong people? And lower your wand. I don't appreciate you pointing it at my wife."

"I was merely trying to help you," Abraxas insisted as he lowered his wand. He, however, didn't put it up. "You didn't need to be seeing that dead baby again."

"Stop with the lies, Father. There is no way your intentions were noble."

"Isn't it enough that you buried that stillborn?" Abraxas growled. "Isn't it enough that you tainted the resting place of our noble and ancient family by burying that defect in the ground of Purebloods?"

"Ara was not a defect!" Lucius bellowed. "And this baby wasn't a defect either!"

"Well, the baby was much too small for a casket anyways," Abraxas responded in a matter-of-fact voice. "And it didn't look right either."

"That's because it had still been developing!" Narcissa snapped. She then seemed to falter. "We don't even know if it was a boy or a girl." She wanted to cry, but she was also determined not to cry in front of her father-in-law.

"Blame the Muggles and the Mudbloods," Abraxas said. "They're polluting us more and more with each passing day."

"Just tell me what you told Brenan to do with our baby," Lucius demanded, his wand still pointed at his father. "I need to hear it from you."

"I told him to burn it," Abraxas replied in a matter-of-fact voice, "and to get rid of the ashes completely."

Enough was enough. Lucius was just about to cast the Killing Curse on his father when he suddenly felt Narcissa's hand on his wand-arm. She had clearly seen the murderous look in her husband's eyes.

Narcissa then looked at Lucius with sorrowful eyes. "I understand why you want to kill him, Lucius. A part of me wants to kill him as well. But killing him won't bring our baby back or give us a body to bury. Don't risk getting sent to Azkaban because of him. It won't serve any purpose. It won't help anything. It would only make things worse. And I would be left all alone. And I couldn't bear the thought of not having you by my side."

Lucius slowly lowered his wand, but the angry look in his eyes did not fade away.

"Go Father," he snarled. "Just go."

"Come, Brenan," Abraxas sneered. He then walked out of the room, closely followed by his house-elf.

Narcissa collapsed into Lucius's arms. "I don't even know what we should name our baby," she sobbed. "And even if I was able to pick out a name, it wouldn't matter, because we wouldn't be able to bury our baby anyways. Oh, our poor baby."

Lucius didn't say anything. What could he possibly say to make things any better? There was nothing he could say.

All he could do was hold his wife as she continued to cry.

Lucius, however, didn't shed a single tear. He had to be strong for Narcissa.

Besides, another part of his soul had died along with his and Narcissa's second lost baby.


	3. The Murder and the Decision

**Author's Note****: About a year has passed between the last chapter and this chapter. Narcissa has suffered one or two more miscarriages since that time. We are still, however, a few years away from Draco being born. Draco won't come until the next story in this series. Sorry Draco fans, but the story of his birth really deserves its own fic.**

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><p>"Well?" Narcissa pressed the Healer, a witch.<p>

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Malfoy," the witch said. "You did indeed suffer another miscarriage."

Narcissa managed to keep her face impassive. It was becoming easier and easier to do so.

"Why?" Narcissa asked in a cold voice. "Why do I keep on having miscarriages?"

"I have performed many tests on you," the witch replied, "but I can't find any reason why you shouldn't be able to carry a baby to full term and deliver it in good health."

"You can't find any reason?" Narcissa sneered. "Well, there has to be a reason, considering that I know for a fact I don't have any children at home."

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Malfoy."

"Save it," Narcissa hissed. "None of your sorries have helped me yet. There has to be a reason for this. There has to be."

"I could have some of the other Healers perform more tests on you," the witch offered.

"No, don't bother," Narcissa snapped. She then faltered slightly. "What's wrong with me? Why am I not able to carry a baby? Why am I not able to produce an heir for my husband?"

The witch didn't have any answers for Narcissa's questions, so she remained silent.

"Thank you for making sure that I wasn't bleeding anymore," Narcissa suddenly spoke in an emotionless voice. "Perhaps I'm just not meant to be a mother."

Narcissa spoke the words nonchalantly, but inside she was breaking. She couldn't take this anymore, always being hopeful that her next pregnancy would finally result in a healthy, living baby, only to be quickly disappointed when she suddenly started to bleed.

She wanted so much to be a mother. She wanted so much to be able to give her Lucius a child.

But she couldn't do either of those things.

Narcissa knew what she needed to do next. She knew that it would hurt Lucius, and she didn't want to hurt him more than he already had been.

But it had to be done. There was no other choice.

* * *

><p>The Auror did not notice Lucius, who was standing in the shadows of the hallway, hidden under a Disillusionment Charm.<p>

Lucius sneered to himself. One would think that an Auror would be smarter than this, especially considering that it was a time of war. But no, some Aurors were still obviously foolish enough to believe that they were safe just because they were inside the Ministry.

The hallway was wide, and Lucius was pressed against the wall. The Auror was nearing him from the other side of the hallway.

The Auror walked casually and was clearly at ease. The fool.

Faster than the eye could blink, a beam of green light shot out of the wand that Lucius had stolen from one of the Ministry workers who had been foolish enough to just leave his wand on top of his desk, with his office door wide open. His office had been empty. His wand had been in clear sight. It had practically been begging to be stolen. How much more foolish could people get, especially during a time of war?

The green light struck the Auror right in his chest.

The Auror didn't even have time to react to just being killed. His body just crumbled to the floor, a peaceful expression on his face.

Still under his Disillusionment Charm, Lucius left the hallway at a casual pace. He had to return the stolen wand before his promised meeting with Fudge.

And it would not do for Lucius to be late.

Lucius had future plans for Fudge. It was important, therefore, to keep Fudge happy.

* * *

><p>The office door was still wide open. The office itself was still empty. It took Lucius only a matter of moments to place the wand back on the desk. Then, still under his Disillusionment Charm, Lucius strolled out of the office.<p>

It was only after he was in an empty hallway, far away from both where the Auror had been killed and from where the wand had been stolen, that Lucius finally undid his Disillusionment Charm.

Lucius couldn't help but wonder whether or not the body would be discovered while he was in his meeting with Fudge or afterwards. It mattered on how long Fudge insisted on talking his head off, while Lucius would be forced to nod politely at the appropriate moments.

Not that it really mattered, of course. The body would eventually be discovered. Lucius had made sure to kill the Auror in a hallway that tended to be busy in both the early morning and in the late evening, but not at the time when Lucius had killed him (several hours after the lunch hour).

The Dark Lord had wanted Lucius to create panic and chaos within the Ministry, and the discovery of a dead Auror would definitely ensure that those things happened.

* * *

><p>Narcissa entered Malfoy Manor.<p>

"Did you just come back from St. Mungo's?" came Abraxas's mocking voice.

"What?"

"I received an owl from the hospital not that long ago that you had suffered another miscarriage. How disappointing."

"St. Mungo's has been sending you letters about me?" Narcissa was completely outraged. Lucius had signed documents to prevent his father from being able to receive any information on her.

"Your husband is not the only one with connections," Abraxas taunted. "Where do you think he learned it from? He's learned lots from me, you know."

"Lucius is nothing like you," Narcissa snarled.

"It truly is amazing how naive and stupid you can be, even after all this time," Abraxas sneered. "Surely you realize that there are some people that would consider your husband a monster."

"All those people are inferior to us," Narcissa hissed. "They know nothing about Lucius, nothing at all."

"So, you are aware of the types of things Lucius does when the Dark Lord summons him," Abraxas said to Narcissa as if she was some foolish, little child.

"Very much so," Narcissa growled.

"Oh, so Lucius shares all the little details with you. And here I was, thinking that he wasn't a complete idiot. I've just been proven wrong. How disappointing."

"Of course Lucius doesn't tell me everything. If the Aurors ever decide to question me, it's best that I don't know much. But I do have some awareness of what the Dark Lord requires out of my husband. And I'm perfectly fine with what he's doing. He's fighting to make this world a better place for us Purebloods. Well, all us Purebloods except for _you_, of course."

"Oh, look who can insult," Abraxas laughed mockingly.

"Don't push me any further," Narcissa warned. "I can hex just as well as Lucius can. He's taught me a few hexes, in fact. Would you like me to demonstrate them on you?"

Abraxas laughed again. "You speak like you're actually someone important. But you're not. You're just a woman, a woman who can't even give her husband an heir."

Narcissa stiffened.

"I see I have struck a nerve," Abraxas smirked. "But you know the words I speak are true. Lucius has a duty to continue his family line. You have a duty to help him with that by giving him a child. You have clearly failed in your duty.

"Unless you would like to suggest that all this is somehow Lucius's fault. But that can't be possible. You have no problem with becoming pregnant. You just have a problem with keeping the baby alive. The problem, therefore, clearly lies with you, not Lucius. You wouldn't even be able to become pregnant if the fault was Lucius's."

"Don't you think I already know this?" Narcissa hissed. "Don't you think I've thought about this before, more than once? I care about duty just as much as Lucius does. I want Lucius to have an heir just as much as you do."

"Then you know what you must do next." Narcissa had never before seen her father-in-law look so satisfied.

Narcissa swallowed. She had already thought about this before she had left St. Mungo's. Abraxas Malfoy's words had only served to confirm what she had already been thinking.

She knew what she had to do.

She also knew that it would break Lucius's heart even more than it had already been broken. How much more could his heart possibly take before it was broken completely, beyond repair?

But both she and Lucius had an obligation to duty. She knew this. Lucius knew this.

It had to be done. There was no other choice. Duty always came first for Purebloods.

"I do," Narcissa finally spoke. "I do know what is now required of me. And I will do it. I will do my duty, so that Lucius can do his duty."

Abraxas's pleased smile grew even wider.

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><p><span><strong>Author's Note<strong>**: ****Only one more chapter to go with this fic. I will, however, be writing a brief side story that will look into the events that happen immediately after the Auror's body is discovered.**


	4. Duty vs Love

**Author's Note****: This is the final chapter for this fic. There were be, however, several more sequels. We still have Draco's birth ahead of us.**

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><p>It had taken a while, but eventually things had calmed down enough for Lucius to finally be able to leave the Ministry and to return to Malfoy Manor.<p>

Once inside the manor, Lucius made his way up to his and Narcissa's bedroom. It was late. Narcissa had probably already eaten dinner, but Lucius wanted to see her before he ate. He had not been able to see much of her lately. The Dark Lord had been keeping him busy.

Lucius liked being busy, as it kept his mind off things. But he didn't like being away from Narcissa for so long. Lucius still believed in blood purity, of course, and he still believed in what they were fighting for. But sometimes he really hated all the sacrifices that he and his wife were forced to make.

Yes, it would be good to see Narcissa.

When Lucius entered the bedroom, he was surprised by the scene that greeted him. Narcissa was shrinking her belongings and placing them into a bag.

"What are you doing?" Lucius asked.

Narcissa spun around in surprise. "Lucius," she gasped. It was clear that she had been crying. It was also clear that it wouldn't take much to make her cry again. "I was hoping to be gone before you came back home."

"Gone? You're leaving? You're moving out? Why?"

"It's not because of you, Lucius," Narcissa said quickly. "I swear it isn't. And I really don't want to leave. But I have to."

"Why? What's going on, Narcissa?"

"I, I suffered another miscarriage today."

"What didn't you tell me that you were pregnant?" Lucius asked after a brief moment of silence.

"Because I didn't want you to get your hopes up for nothing."

"Have there been other pregnancies that I don't know about?"

Narcissa looked down at the floor. She nodded her head, but she was unable to meet Lucius's eyes.

"Narcissa," Lucius breathed, "you should have told me. I am your husband. That means I'm supposed to be there for you. I know that I haven't been here much lately, and I'm really sorry-"

"You have nothing to apologize for," Narcissa interrupted. "You _have_ been there for me, Lucius. And you have been nothing but absolutely wonderful to me."

"Then why were you trying to leave without telling me first? Didn't you think that I would worry about you?"

"I would have sent you an owl, Lucius. And I really don't want to leave. I honestly don't. But I have to."

"Why?"

"Because," Narcissa began in a soft voice. She faltered for a moment before trying again. "Because I can't give you an heir."

"You think I only care about that?"

"But don't you want to have children, Lucius?"

"Of course I do. But I also want you, Narcissa. I want to have children with you."

Narcissa shook her head sadly. "We can't think in such terms, Lucius. I know this. You know this. We are Purebloods. We have a duty to ensure that our family lines don't die with us, especially yours since you are a male and you still carry your family name. I have failed in my duty, Lucius. I have failed to give you a child."

"No," Lucius breathed. "How could you even think about blaming yourself? I have never blamed you."

"Because you are able to make me pregnant, but I am unable to keep a baby alive," Narcissa answered simply. "Therefore, I am clearly the one at fault."

"Stop speaking like that," Lucius snapped. "This is my father's doing, isn't it? It would be just like that old bastard to say such things to you." Lucius then turned, as if to leave.

"Lucius, wait," Narcissa cried. Lucius stopped and turned slightly to look at his wife.

"Yes, your father have spoken to me about this," Narcissa spoke, "but I had already made the decision to leave when I was still at St. Mungo's." Narcissa took a deep breath before continuing. "None of the Healers can tell me why I'm unable to carry a healthy, living child. All I know is that I just keep on having miscarriages. And I can't keep on doing that to you, Lucius. We have a duty. My presence here is keeping you from doing your duty.

"You are still young, Lucius. You still have time to find yourself another wife. There may be some talk for a while, but it won't last for long. Your family is well too respected in the Pureblood circles for that to happen. And who cares what everyone else thinks? They are inferior to us. Their opinions do not matter.

"And I'll make sure that everyone knows that it wasn't because of you that I left. I'll make sure that everyone knows that it was because of me. The Black family has suffered from scandal and weakness before. We can do so again. I'll just be another disappointment. That sometimes happens, even in Pureblood families as noble and as ancient as the Blacks.

"But I won't allow you to be dishonored just because your wife cannot give you an heir. I'm sorry, Lucius, but I have to leave. It's for the best, especially for your sake. That's all I've ever cared about, doing what's best for you."

"No," Lucius cried. "I don't care what anyone says. I rather be childless and have you than have many children with a wife I care nothing about. And I don't care if that goes against our Pureblood beliefs. I can only take so much of duty. I hate duty. I hate it. I just want to forget about duty for once in my life.

"I want you, Narcissa. No, I _need_ you. I know that you have some idea of what I do for the Dark Lord. And I don't mind none of it. I really don't. But none of it truly helps me. Nothing I do seems to dull the pain that I feel. The pain may go awhile for a little while, but it always comes back eventually. Sometimes I feel so lost, Narcissa, so empty. And I know that I'm not supposed to feel that way. But I do.

"You take away my pain, Narcissa. You are my sanity, my only sanity in this cold world. I live in darkness, Narcissa, darkness. You are the only thing that keeps me from falling completely into that darkness. You give me a way out. You give me hope. Without you, I would go mad. Without you, I would have no reason to live. I am empty without you. I am nothing without you. You are everything to me, Narcissa, everything.

"Don't go. Please, don't go. Stay. Stay here with me. I need you here with me. If the Malfoy line is meant to die with me, then so be it. But please, Narcissa, don't go. Don't leave me here alone."

Narcissa was crying by this point, but even through her tears, she couldn't help but notice something about her husband that she had never seen before.

There were tears in his eyes. He wasn't crying like she was, but he was close to doing so.

Narcissa had always known that Lucius loved her, but she had never thought that the possibility of losing her would affect him this much.

"Come here," Lucius breathed, holding out a hand towards his wife.

Narcissa paused only for a moment before walking over to her husband and taking his hand.

Lucius wrapped his arms around Narcissa and pulled her close to him.

"I'm sorry about the baby," Lucius spoke. "I know how much you want to be a mother."

"Maybe one day we'll get lucky," Narcissa replied. "Maybe one day we'll finally be able to have a child together."

"Maybe," Lucius agreed weakly. "But even if that never happens, my feelings for you will not change. You will always be important to me."

"I know," Narcissa breathed. "I'm sorry for not fully realizing that until now."

Lucius just held her closer.

And Narcissa was torn between both happiness and sadness. She was happy that Lucius still wanted her as his wife, despite her inability to give him a child. But she was sad that she wasn't able to have that child. She really did want to be a mother.

But maybe, just maybe, she would one day finally be able to become a mother. And maybe one day Lucius would finally be able to become a father.

A huge part of her, though, was telling her that she was just being completely naive and foolish.

That, however, didn't stop her from hoping.

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><p><span><strong>Author's Note<strong>**: I hope that I didn't make Lucius or Narcissa too sappy or OCC. Okay, so it is sappy, but I hope it's not too sappy (because I really don't like doing sappy that much, especially when the story is supposed to be angst). I sometimes find it hard to write dialogue that is both emotional and realistic. This chapter really sounded great in my head, LOL. I also hope that I didn't make Lucius sound too obsessive over Narcissa. Anyways, I hope that all my readers have enjoyed this fic, and there will be more to come in another fic.  
><strong>


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